Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Fly Fishing Forum forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Home Waters

Your home waters

Current Favorite Fly

If you only had one... (change anytime)

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Additional Options

Miscellaneous Options

Automatically parse links in text

Automatically embed media (requires automatic parsing of links in text to be on).

Rate Thread

If you like, you can add a score for this thread.

Topic Review (Newest First)

03-25-2003 07:23 PM

removed_by_request

If you go you need a guide just to cross to the berm and find the really good pools.

That water moves and moves fast. You are fishing right below the set of barriers that control the flow out of Lake Superior. The wind at times blows so hard and swirls that you have problems finding a shoulder to cast off of. If you are lucky you'll get a calm day with a 10-15mph wind.

03-25-2003 03:48 PM

pmflyfisher

Yes I have heard the smelt patterns work well up there.

Maybe this is the year to do it ?

PM Out

03-24-2003 12:01 PM

removed_by_request

Sounds odd to me, if the pros say pink/purple/chart works for them, I stand corrected.

I think next time I go up there (St. Marys) I'll stick to a smelt pattern. Couldn't believe how well that worked. Will leave the popsicles for the kids anyway.

03-24-2003 11:16 AM

pmflyfisher

Thanks for the independent verification that they will work for atlantics at times. Let me at those Atlantics with these girls ! I will be working on the micro versions soon. I am really getting into these types of flies, the boxes are getting full with these marabous.

Malcolm, I say give it a go on the Spey, I did send you one or two I believe.

I will send you some of the new ones I am working on. let me know what colors you would like, I can see a willie gunn popsicle/show girl version on the way to you.

PM OUt

03-24-2003 09:54 AM

Topher Browne

Popsicles aren't just for kids....

Per is right on the money (as usual),

At our camp on the Margaree in October, we fish popsicle-style flies almost exclusively for fall-run Atlantic salmon. The original "Popsicle," the "Showgirl," and a combination of marabou that imitates a "Willie Gunn" are our best producers.

Fall-run salmon are a different breed than the summer-runs of the Gaspe' or the Miramichi. With water temps around 42 degrees and spawning only 4-5 weeks away, they are much closer to winter-run steelhead in behavior than summer-run Atlantics.

In fact, I call the Fall season on Cape Breton "Steelhead fishing for Atlantic salmon....."

Best regards,

TB

03-24-2003 01:43 AM

Per Stadigh

Show girls on the tundra!

Those Showgirls would work fine up at our Kharlovka and Rynda rivers at the Kola's north coast, at least in the very early season when the rivers often are high and the last ice still might be on tour down the system. Big and flashy flies fished deep often result in the rod being all but snapped out of one's hands with an explosive and reel emptying run to follow. Fish rarely are under 15 pounds with many being well past 20. A time for men!!

My crude favorite for early days, the Animal Garden, sports a metallic Royal blue body with a bright yellow bucktail wing and tail intermixed with PLENTY of red and golden lure flash. Normally it is tied on a 1" copper tube with an overall fly length of 4-5".

Thanks for all the nice comments regarding my little "Rolf" tale. By the way, we never told Rolf of the fish we too caught that day.... If you Juro find it worthy for the "chronicles" I am more than happy to let you move it. (I assume that I retain the copywrite?)

Then, in late April on the Dee one needs #6-10 sparesly tied flies off a light tip or a full floater. So different from early Scandivavia or Russia....

Per

03-23-2003 10:04 PM

removed_by_request

If you shock and awe Atlantics you will be left with an empty pool.

Never heard of hot n tots being used for them either.

Thats probably one of the reasons why they never really made it big in our part of the GL's. No one caught many because they used steelhead and pac. salmon tactics on them.

Save your popsicles for the steel they are not as picky.

03-23-2003 09:13 PM

pmflyfisher

Malcolm,

They could be used when you decide to use "The Schock and Awe" strategy on those atlantics.

Hal

PM Out

03-23-2003 11:24 AM

Willie Gunn

Hal,
Was I supposed to fish with it? I thought it was for hanging on the Christmas tree.:hehe:

One of these days when there is a big dirty spate and everyone has gone home I'll give it a go.

Malcolm

03-23-2003 11:17 AM

pmflyfisher

MJYP,

Malcolm has an early prototype of my Show Girls to try in Scotland. Perhaps there will be a bold atlantic to chase it ? We know steelhead and pacific salmon will and violently at times.

Heck the pluggers put big wobbling hot n tots lures in their face which just drives them crazy into taking.

PM Out

03-23-2003 08:47 AM

removed_by_request

Per,

Great tale, did you ever tell Rolf about your secret success??

My only exposure to Atlantics(St. Marys river) proved them to be the oddest fish I have ever encountered.

Fished a pool hard for hours, resting it properly only to have some one come up with a huge smelt pattern and zip one on his 3rd or 4th cast.

03-23-2003 07:59 AM

juro

Per - wonderful story!

With your permission I'd like to nominate that we capture it into our Chronicles section as a short story so that will not get buried into flytalk.

03-23-2003 05:59 AM

Willie Gunn

Lovely Tale

Per,
I really enjoyed your story. There is nothing worse than being fishless when everyone else is catching. The more you try the worse it gets.

Malcolm

03-23-2003 02:52 AM

inland

Per,

Thanks sharing the story. I talked with Gordon about springers, but it will have to wait for another year!

As Richard Adams profoundly says, "There's always a chance if your fly is in the water!"

Quite the pick-me-up,

William

03-23-2003 02:06 AM

Per Stadigh

Well done, Malcolm!

Had you gotten that springer early in the week, with no more to follow, you probably would have remembered it all as a dour week where the intial joy and confidence eventually would have been swapped for frustration by week's end!!

Three years ago an eldery friend fished the Dee with us for the first time. He was skunked by Saturday lunch, whereas I and my other friend had caught a few springers each. (In Scotland one normally fishes from Monday - Saturday) In anger and frustration he asked if we, regardless of the rotation scheme, would allow him to start at the beat's top. (This water is just across from Wood's "Grey Mare".) His intention was to stubbornly fish every inch of the 2 km long beat through.....

At that stage we felt so badly for him, that we would have allowed anything save the "Garden Fly". He took off with the looks of a man who is off for the woods to put his beloved dog down.....

Just prior to dinner Rolf "the machine" entered the long Malt steep pool where our fishing hut is. He looked like a stooped down gnome by now. Any attempt to contact him was returned by grunting and repellent sounds. 25 meter casts sailed out and were fished round - 5 feet between casts. Concealed in the shade of the hut we saw him disappear into that pool's great tail. He was not to have dinner, we both agreed. Ours became a rather stale one - fingers crossed for a miracle to happen.

After dinner I quicky fished the top water through for a lovly sealiced 10 pounder, that I quickly returned with a promise to keep it secret for all but our ghillie. Back at the hut my other friend was sitting with a malt in hand and a puzzled look at his face.
"Any news from the machine?"
"No."
"Any fish?"
"No..... What about you?"
"No.... well, I kind of lost one at the top....."
"Funny, I did too here in Maltsteep..."
"Just at the bank?"
"Hmmm...."

All of a sudden we heard livid voices from down river. The ghillie and a very wet Rolf came strolling like a young couple in love. Every 10 yards they stopped and hugged and some clear liquid of amber color was donned straight from the bottle.

The miracle had happened! On the last croy at the very lower border Rolf had sent a last loop of line out to let the fly trail through a black seam well in to the opponents water. The fish took him deep into enemy territory in a long and sweeping run through the "Mill Race" rapids. Rolf being a Viking took the river too, as the ungroomed bank of this "no mans land" with overhanging trees and dense rhododendron bushes was inpassable. The fish (and Rolf!) was landed by their ghillie and even by him agreed to be of over 12 pounds, which is a fine fish for the Dee.
Our ghillie had waited at the border to exchange the "prisoner" for an unknown and communly shared quantity of malt.

Peace was restored. Remember: Persistence pays!

Per

This thread has more than 15 replies.
Click here to review the whole thread.